Wood Interior

The dramatic contrast of lights and darks, luminous foreground clearing, shrouded detail, and mottled and cracked layers of thick paint make this landscape mysteriously intriguing. Though wildly popular in his day, artist Ralph A. Blakelock found it difficult to support his wife and nine children. He experienced frequent psychological breakdowns, which resulted in stays in psychiatric hospitals and asylums.

Though his plight garnered much support in the art community, demand for his work kept him painting even in the hospital, and led his daughter to produce works in his style to supplement family income. A number of forgers took advantage of Blakelock’s situation and brought about one of the first major forgery scandals in the American art world.